Abstract

The ''competing and learning'' campaign, launched in March 1989 by the All-China Women's Federation, was a response to pressures arising from demographic changes in the Chinese countryside, including the changing character of the rural population and growing concern since 1986 about levels of food production. The features of the campaign include the role of the All-China Women's Federation and the elaborate organizational network that was put in place before the campaign was launched. The impact of the campaign is difficult to judge, given the fact that it is still continuing. However, it is clear from the evidence so far that there has been no fundamental shift in the Chinese state's approach to women-it remains materialists and instrumentalist. Althoug this particular campaign has improved the material lives of many women, it does not in any way challenge the sexual division of labor that is fundamental to the social position of women in rural China.